Wolves of Karakura
by SakaSandora
Summary: Werewolves are an endangered species due to over hunting and fear from old stories. The Loup-Garou moon is almost here and soon Ichigo will have to leave his home in order to find a new mate. Please Review!


Chapter one: The wolf travels light

In a place far away there were three distinct lands. Karakura was made up of forests; a coniferous forest, huge towering trees, to the northwest, while to the southwest was a dudicious forest. Seireitei was plains to the northwest through the southwest, to the east were marshes and bogs that would suck you down. The last land was Hueco Mundo. It was a mountainous region that started from the south and slowly wound its way forward, finally turning into desert. In the middle where all three connected was a metropolis called Las Noches. It was in perpetual darkness from the soaring skyscrapers. Underneath this city was another city, a horrible place that was forever bathed in light from the many neon lights. It was called Seireitei.

Our story starts in Karakura with a small family of Werewolves living in a cave to the north. The alpha male, Isshin, lost his mate, Masaki, due to a rouge Were attack. He raised up his three pups as best he could and did a good job. He was never the best father but he was a great leader. Things change as time goes by, it's nearing the Loup-Garou moon, the time when most pups reach 16 years of age, and make their first change into a human form. That is also the time when they leave the pack to find a mate of their own and start their own pack, to either bear children themselves or sire them. It's almost the eldest's pup's turn to leave; he will have a hard journey through the lands, for Fate has not been kind to him…

Isshin gazed outside of their cave enjoying the warm summer night. He had just finished patrolling their lands and was slightly worried over the Vizard clans to the north who seemed to be testing his boundaries. If they didn't quit he would have to teach them a lesson.

Or perhaps he'd send Ichigo down as a peace offering. After all the pup was almost 16, not really a pup anymore. It was time for the young wolf to go out and meet the world, and a prospective mate. Isshin idly wondered what gender he preferred, either way the boy would have pups.

He glanced back inside to see the twins asleep curled around their big brother. He had a strange coloring compared to his siblings. Yuzu had taken after his mate while Karin had taken after himself, but Ichigo had neither his wife's russet brown nor his deep black. Instead the boy was a bright orange, it made him think his wife had cheated on him. Isshin sighed, longing to run with her one last time. Yes, the boy needed to leave soon. He wasn't a pup anymore, no use acting like one.

With a yawn Isshin lay down in the mouth of their cave, still keeping a watchful eye on the world outside. For the last few moons, ever since Ichigo had first started his heat cycle many young Were's would come near, sniffing about for a mate. They lusted after him, not knowing what they were looking for, yet knowing a powerful prospective mate lay beyond.

Isshin had fought every single one of them, winning and chasing them off of his land. He was growing tired of it all, and wanted some peace and quiet. Finally decided, Isshin slowly drifted off.

The next morning Ichigo woke up and slowly stretched languidly. He grinned when his sister sniffed his ear giving him a slight lick. Yawning he stretched out feeling his spin tingle all the way down to his tail, playfully swishing it in front of Karin's nose, who sniffed and sneezed glaring at him.

He laughed and playfully leapt in front of her. She grinned back at him and growling got ready to leap, wanting to play. Suddenly a huge black shadow stood in front of them. Ichigo hesitated, watching his father warily. The man was angry, his body posture screamed it, Ichigo glanced over toward the cave mouth, wary for intruders. For the last few months strange wolves had come round marking their territory and calling. His father had gone out angry every time to chase them off. He'd tried asking his father about the wolves but he had just brushed him off snapping something about "You'll understand it one of these days."

To Ichigo's surprise, Isshin started growling at him. Ichigo lay down and rolled over, showing off his stomach in a sign of submission. Isshin growled again and snapped at him, his teeth bared.

"Leave Ichigo." Ichigo sat up, not understanding. "You are too old to be playing any more. The Loup-Garou moon is in two weeks, you will then be an adult. Leave and find yourself a mate and a place to settle down on. You are not welcome here anymore."

"What are you saying dad?" Ichigo lay on his stomach in front of him, not quiet understanding. He didn't hesitate as he started nuzzling his dads chin. But to his horror his father knocked him back and with a snarl bit his neck.

"LEAVE! NOW! You are not welcome here anymore!" Ichigo got up and took a step forward. "Dad, I…" With a snarl Isshin lunged at Ichigo, grabbing Ichigo's leg he bit down, shaking his head wildly. Ichigo cried out and struggled, trying to get away. Isshin let go lunging for Ichigo again.

Howling in pain, Ichigo turned tail and fled. Racing away past trees not noticing the branches whipping him in his face through the tears rolling down his cheeks. He was lost and didn't know what he had done to upset his father into chasing him off. He finally slowed down when he passed their border line. No, the Kurosaki wolves borderline. He was no longer allowed to return home and that was a sobering thought. Ichigo stopped walking and lay down. He didn't want to move, didn't want to think. Tears rolled down his cheeks again until he was sobbing. Crying out his pain and frustration over something he still didn't understand. Slowly Ichigo drifted off to sleep, hoping that in the morning everything would be better.

It wasn't. The first thing he woke up to was rain. No, rain was small little drops that annoyed you but not quite soaked through. No, it was pouring, huge fat drops that caused the world around him to become loud and the ground beneath him to become muddy. Feeling worse, Ichigo wandered aimlessly through the forest not noticing the ground beneath him changing colors and hardness, or the lights in the distance slowly getting larger.

"Slow down! You can hardly see a thing! It's raining cats and dogs out there." Jainee peered out the window of their jeep, it was so dark out, and even though it was only 12:30 AM it looked like it was 9:30 PM. Jainee jumped when a branch whipped past hitting her window, she glared at her boyfriend. "Slow down dammit, how can you see anything?" Brandon glared at her but slowed down.

"Its going to take an hour to get there going at this speed," he muttered. Jainee snorted, ignoring him. She was still mad at him after he had almost got the two of them killed taking a curve too fast.

"Maybe if you actually went the speed limit, I wouldn't be so angry with you." He rolled his eyes.

"The speed limit is like fifteen. And we weren't going to die, I wasn't going that fas…"

"LOOK OUT!" Jainee screamed staring in horror at the shape in front of them. They heard the sickening crunch as they hit something big. Brandon slammed on the brakes. Wrenching the wheel as the jeep skidded on the slippery road. They finally came to a stop, their gasps sounding loud in the sudden silence. They stared at each other in horror, each of them wondering what they had hit.

"I'll go check it out," Brandon opened the door and looking behind the jeep, stopped when he saw the body of the beast. He blinked in surprise. "Hey Jainee, I think we hit a werewolf."

Ichigo groaned in pain. He remembered a bright light then pain. Horrible never-ending pain, it felt like his legs were on fire. Ichigo tried to get up but found he couldn't move. He whimpered, and soon his whines started to grow louder. Until he was crying again, over everything he didn't have any more, his home, his family, his lands. All of it was gone. He wanted to die, to have it all end. Even if he would be in pain in the end.

"You what? I told you to slow down!" Jainee got out of the car glaring at Brandon.

"I did! I was only going…" Both stopped talking when the first cries started. They looked at each other and slowly took a tentative step forward. "We can't leave him here, it's a federal offense to kill an endangered animal. We'll have to take it to the wildlife center."

"Hey, we still have that picnic blanket! Lets wrap him in it." They opened the trunk and pulled out the blanket. "Err, how are we going to do this? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be bitten by it." Jainee rolled her eyes.

"It's not like it biting us will change us into a werewolf. That's only a dumb superstition. Just throw the blanket over him and wrap it around him, he's probably too injured to fight back." Before he could say anything, Jainee threw the blanket over the wolf and grabbing around its middle he helped her wrestle the animal into their trunk. Slamming the door closed Brandon started the car back up and made his way towards Las Noches.

Ichigo felt himself drifting off. The rain had finally stopped falling on him and he felt warm and safe. Perhaps life wasn't so bad. But something at the back of his mind was screaming at him. Telling him something was wrong. Curling up, Ichigo decided to ignore that part of himself.

"We're almost there," Jainee looked back at the wolf, watching its stomach rise and fall with each breath. It was lying on its side, one of its legs at an odd angel. "Can you hurry?"

Brandon growled in annoyance. "First you tell me to slow down, now your telling me to speed right back up, make up your damn mind woman!" Jainee rolled her eyes, and ignored him. She smiled when she spotted Las Noches in the distance. "Hold on a little more, were almost there."

A/N: I like where this is going, but I've noticed most of my stories have a very short first chapter and no matter what I do, it's still short…hmmm. Anyways, I love this story the most…don't know why.


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